27-05-2025
Clemson is only focused on USC-Upstate as they prepare for the Clemson Regional
Clemson is only focused on USC-Upstate as they prepare for the Clemson Regional
Clemson's lopsided 14-4 loss to North Carolina in Sunday's ACC Championship Game isn't lingering in the minds of the Tigers — not with the NCAA Tournament just days away.
'Disappointing as (Sunday) was, you just got to flush that and move on,' head coach Erik Bakich said. 'By the time we got on the bus leaving Durham, we had already turned the page.'
Despite falling short of a second ACC title in three years, Clemson (41-14) has secured the No. 11 national seed and top billing in the Clemson regional. The Tigers will host No. 2 seed West Virginia, No. 3 seed Kentucky, and No. 4 seed USC-Upstate at Doug Kingsmore Stadium starting Friday.
Clemson opens regional play at 6 p.m. against USC-Upstate, a team Bakich is plenty familiar with. The Tigers have beaten the Spartans twice this season — 12-6 in February and 11-1 in April — and Bakich is 4-1 against Upstate since arriving at Clemson.
'Our focus is not going any further than Friday and USC-Upstate,' Bakich said. 'They have a great club. First-year coach, back in the tournament, coming off the dog pile. They can really hit. Dangerous lineup.'
USC-Upstate enters on a six-game win streak after capturing the Big South Tournament in Kane Sweeney's debut season. Meanwhile, West Virginia and Kentucky will face off in Friday's noon game, with the winners set to meet Saturday.
While Bakich acknowledged Kentucky's aggressive style and West Virginia's consistency, he emphasized that scouting reports would wait. 'We haven't really looked at anything in-depth or in detail,' he said. 'We will.'
For now, the Tigers are focused squarely on Friday night.
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